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Welsh Open Result
The band started its 2024 contesting season with an appearance at the Welsh Open Entertainment Contest, held at The Riverfront in Newport on February 17th 2024.
Fourteen Championship and First Section bands competed, with adjudicator Sheona White tasked with selecting a winner. The band was pleased with its performance, which was narrated by the event’s compère, David Hayward, and were placed 8th. The band choose to present the following ‘Peter Pan’ themed programme:
- The Flight to Neverland, John Williams arr. Sofie Brems Sørensen
- A Motley Crew, Trad arr. Philip Harper
- Tango, Gavin Higgins
- Beneath the Stars, Jonathan Bates
- Main Theme from Cutthroat Island, John Debney arr. Philip Harper
Full results for the contest are shown below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw | Points |
1 | Ebbw Valley Brass | Gareth Ritter | 8 | 196 |
2 | Wantage Silver Band | Chris King | 9 | 195 |
3 | Parc & Dare Band | Dewi Griffiths | 14 | 194 |
4 | Llwydcoed Band | Joshua Ruck | 11 | 193 |
5 | City of Cardiff (M1) Band | Daniel Hall | 3 | 192 |
6 | Tongwynlais Temperance Band | Owen Farr | 13 | 190 |
7 | Tylorstown Band | Rob Westacott | 4 | 189 |
8 | Pontardulais Town Band | Paul Jenkins | 7 | 188 |
9 | Milton Keynes Brass | Matthew Brown | 10 | 186 |
10 | Filton Concert Brass | Gary Davies | 6 | 185 |
11 | Forest of Dean Brass | Martyn Patterson | 2 | 184 |
12 | B. T. M. Band | Jeff Hutcherson | 1 | 183 |
13 | Lympstone Band | Nigel Seaman | 5 | 182 |
14 | Chapeltown Silver Prize Band | Colum O’Shea | 12 | 181 |
Highest Placed First Section Band not in Prizes: Milton Keynes Brass
Most Entertaining Stage Presentation: Llwydcoed Band
Best Soloist: Imogen Fewster – baritone (Wantage Silver Band)
Best Cornet Player: Becky Cale (Llwydcoed Band)
Best Soprano Player: Brian Thomas (Wantage Silver Band)
Best Horn Section: Parc & Dare Band
Best Euphonium: Alison Millin (Forest of Dean Brass)
Best Trombone Section: Ebbw Valley Brass
Best Tuba Section: Ebbw Valley Brass
Best Percussion Section: City of Cardiff (M1) Band
Youngest Instrumentalist: Garyn Jones (Parc & Dare Band)
Invitation to compete at the 2024 Spring Festival: Parc & Dare Band
Best of Brass Concert
Saturday November 18th 2023 saw the band head over the Severn Bridge to take part in a concert outside Wales for what is believed to be the first time!
Held at the Salvation Army Hall in Easton, Bristol, the ‘Best of Brass’ concert featured Filton Concert Brass and Pontardulais Town Band, along with guest Euphonium soloist Daniel Thomas, of the Cory Band.
Filton Concert Brass, with guest conductor Anri Adachi, opened the concert and chose to perform their recent Wychavon Festival of Brass set, before accompanying Daniel on ‘Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band’.
The second part of the concert saw Pontardulais Town Band, conducted by Paul Jenkins, take to the stage to perform their own selection of pieces and to accompany Daniel on ‘In Gardens of Peace’ and ‘Fantasie Originale’.
The final part of the concert saw both bands combine to perform four pieces together, with Anri and Paul sharing conducting duties, appropriately closing with a rendition of ‘Fire in the Blood’ – a piece which was originally commissioned to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army.
All proceeds from the concert went towards the Salvation Army’s work in the Easton region of Bristol.
The full programme of music from the concert is below.
Filton Concert Brass (Anri Adachi)
Clans Collide | Philip Harper |
Cry Me a River Cornet Soloist: Neil Allen | Arthur Hamilton arr. TBC |
Adagio | Samuel Barber arr. Keith Griffin |
I Got Rhythm | George Gershwin arr. Alan Fernie |
Thunder and Lightning | Johann Strauss arr. Frank Wright |
Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Johan Evenepoel |
Pontardulais Town Band (Paul Jenkins)
Amazonia (from Windows of the World) | Peter Graham |
Sosban Fach | Gareth Wood |
In Gardens of Peace Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Philip Harper |
Fantasie Originale Euphonium Soloist: Daniel Thomas | Ermanno Picchi/Simone Mantia arr. Margaret Antrobus |
Finale from Symphony No IV | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arr. William Gordon |
Massed Bands
March – Praise | Wilfred Heaton |
Banana Island | Etienne Crausaz |
Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) | Edward Elgar arr. Eric Ball |
Fire in the Blood | Paul Lovatt-Cooper |
ENCORE – Climb Every Mountain | Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein arr. Philip Harper |
Mid-Table Finish at the British Open Spring Festival
The band once again competed in the Senior Trophy at the British Open Spring Festival on Saturday 13th May 2023. The contest was held in the Spanish Hall at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, with the set test piece ‘The Accursed Huntsman’ by Cesar Franck and arranged by Edrich Siebert, selected to challenge the competing bands.
The band were placed 13th in a field of 21 bands, with Mark Wilkinson and Brett Baker as adjudicators.
A highlight of the day was one of our Academy Band members, Iolo Evans, making his first contest appearance with the senior band, playing bass drum, alongside his dad on Flugel Horn.
Full results for the contest are below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw |
1 | Thundersley Brass | Melvin White | 16 |
2 | Amersham | Paul Fisher | 12 |
3 | Stannington Brass | Sam Fisher | 14 |
4 | Tylorstown | Robert Westacott | 15 |
5 | Tongwynlais Temperance | Owen Farr | 13 |
6 | Blackburn & Darwen | Daniel Thomas | 5 |
7 | Unison Kinneil | Raymond Tennant | 21 |
8 | Eccles Borough | Jon Davis | 6 |
9 | Longridge | Mark Peacock | 7 |
10 | Yorkshire Imperial | Garry Hallas | 17 |
11 | Easington Colliery | Stephen Malcolm | 18 |
12 | Ebbw Valley Brass | Gareth Ritter | 19 |
13 | Pontardulais | Paul Jenkins | 10 |
14 | Enderby | Stephen Phillips | 8 |
15 | Parc & Dare | Dewi Griffiths | 9 |
16 | Haverhill Silver | Paul Filby | 2 |
17 | Filton Concert Brass | Nathan Jenkins | 1 |
18 | Vernon Building Society | Adam Delbridge-Smith | 3 |
19 | Thoresby Colliery | Simon Oates | 20 |
20 | Bo’ness & Carriden | Charlie Farren | 4 |
21 | Haftield & Askern Colliery | Stan Lippeat | 11 |
Best Instrumentalist: Keith Schroeter – Horn (Thundersley)
Championship Section Return at the Welsh Regionals
Following its victory in the 1st Section at the Welsh Regional Championships in 2022, the band was promoted to the Championship Section for the 2023 contest, which was held on Sunday 19th March 2023 at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea.
Making its first appearance in the top section in Wales since 2013, the band faced the challenege of performing the set test piece, ‘Red Priest’ by Philip Wilby.
The band achieved 6th place in a very strong field of 7 bands.
Full results for the section are below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw |
1 | Tredegar Town Band | Ian Porthouse | 1 |
2 | Cory Band | Philip Harper | 2 |
3 | Llwydcoed Band | Joshua Ruck | 3 |
4 | City of Cardiff (M1) Band | Chris Bond | 7 |
5 | Tongwynlais Temperance Band | Owen Farr | 4 |
6 | Pontardulais Town Band | Paul Jenkins | 5 |
7 | Tylorstown Band | Gary Davies | 6 |
Best Instrumentalist: Robert Westacott – Soprano (Tredegar Town Band)
Best Cornet: Tom Hutchinson – Cory Band
Best Basses: Cory Band
Welsh Open Title Defence
The band kicked off its 2023 contesting season, hoping to defend its title of ‘Welsh Open Champions’, with an appearance at the Welsh Open Entertainment Contest, held at The Riverfront in Newport on February 18th 2023.
Fourteen Championship and First Section bands competed, with adjudicator Glyn Williams given the task of selecting a winner. Unfortunately, the band was unable to hold onto the CISWO Challenge Trophy, but was pleased with its performance, once again narrated by radio DJ and local Swansea personality, Kev Johns. The band choose to present the following programme:
- A Fantasy of Joy, Fredrick Schjelderup
- O Verona, Craigh Armstrong arr. Philip Harper
- Banana Island, Etienne Crausaz
- Ar Lan y Môr, Welsh Traditional arr. Leigh Baker
- Enchanted Kingdom, Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Full results for the contest ar shown below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw | Points |
1 | Ebbw Valley Brass | Gareth Ritter | 12 | 198 |
2 | Llwydcoed Band | Joshua Ruck | 7 | 197 |
3 | City of Cardiff (M1) Band | Chris Bond | 14 | 196 |
4 | Burry Port Town Band | Andrew Jones | 13 | 194 |
5 | Parc & Dare Band | Dewi Griffiths | 2 | 193 |
6 | Brunel Brass | Daniel Hall | 5 | 192 |
7 | Filton Concert Brass | Nathan Jenkins | 3 | 191 |
8 | Tongwynlais Temperance Band | Owen Farr | 9 | 190 |
9 | Pontardulais Town Band | Paul Jenkins | 4 | 189 |
10 | Jackfield Brass Band | Ryan Richards | 10 | 188 |
11 | Michelmersh Silver Band | Melvin White | 11 | 187 |
12 | Tylorstown Band | Gary Davies | 8 | 186 |
13 | B. T. M. Band | Jeff Hutcherson | 6 | 185 |
14 | Lewis Merthyr Band | Craig Roberts | 1 | 184 |
Highest Placed First Section Band not in Prizes: B. T. M. Band
Most Entertaining Stage Presentation: Llwydcoed Band
Best Soloist: Philip Howells – Xylophone (Ebbw Valley Brass)
Best Cornet Player: Andrew Smith (Llwydcoed Band)
4BR Best Soprano Player: Tom King (Llwydcoed Band)
Best Horn Section: Brunel Brass
Best Percussion Section: Ebbw Valley Brass
Youngest Instrumentalist: Sioned Evans (Burry Port)
Invitation to compete at the 2023 Spring Festival: Burry Port
Morriston Tabernacle Concert Cancellation
We regret to advise that due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, the concert arranged for 1st October at Morriston Tabernacle has been cancelled. All tickets sold will be refunded.
National Finals 2022
The band was placed 9th in the First Section Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, held at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, on September 17th 2022. The band gained the invitation to represent Wales at the contest through winning the First Section at the Welsh Regional Championships in March.
All 16 competing bands were required to perform the set test piece ‘Trittico’ by James Curnow, with three adjudicators to impress – Roger Webster, Ian Porthouse and Gary Davies.
Full results for the section are below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw |
1 | Stannington | Sam Fisher | 15 |
2 | Marsden Silver Prize | Andrew Lofthouse | 13 |
3 | Staffordshire | Craig Williams | 14 |
4 | Sandhurst Silver | David Johnson | 16 |
5 | Acceler8 | Jef Sparkes | 8 |
6 | Ebbw Valley | Gareth Ritter | 1 |
7 | Ashton under Lyne | Martyn Evans | 6 |
8 | Bo’ness & Carriden | Charlie Farren | 9 |
9 | Pontardulais Town | Paul Jenkins | 7 |
10 | Hyde | Nigel Seaman | 2 |
11 | Dalkeith & Monktonhall | James Chamberlain | 3 |
12 | Kirbymoorside Town | Sarah Woodward | 11 |
13 | Gresley Colliery | Craig Stevens | 10 |
14 | East of England Co-op | Nigel Cooper | 4 |
15 | Houghton | Michael Franey | 5 |
16 | Bodmin Town | Simon Badge | 12 |
Best Instrumentalist: Rachel Dines – Flugelhorn (Ashton under Lyne)
Pontardulais Town Band
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Return to the the British Open Spring Festival
Having received an invitation to compete at the British Open Spring Festival as a result of its victory in the Welsh Open Championship in February, the band returned to Blackpool for the first time since 2013 to compete in the Senior Trophy.
Held in the Spanish Hall at the Winter Gardens on 7th May 2022, the band performed the set test piece, ‘Life Divine’, by (Swansea-born composer!) Cyril Jenkins.
The band achieved an excellent 7th place in a field of 22 bands, its highest ever position in the competition! The adjudicators for the contest were Sandy Smith and Simon Gresswell.
The band were very grateful to receive funding from the Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm Community Fund to cover the transport costs for the weekend.
Full results for the contest are below.
Position | Band | Conductor | Draw |
1 | Unite the Union | Jonathan Beatty | 20 |
2 | Boarshurst Silver | Jamie Prophet | 10 |
3 | Fishburn | Duncan Beckley | 18 |
4 | East London Brass | Jayne Murrill | 19 |
5 | Tylorstown | Gary Davies | 1 |
6 | Enderby | Stephen Phillips | 13 |
7 | Pontardulais | Paul Jenkins | 21 |
8 | Unison Kinneil | Raymond Tennant | 2 |
9 | Hatfield & Askern Colliery | Stan Lippeatt | 6 |
10 | Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel | Garry Hallas | 5 |
11 | Eccles Borough | Mareika Gray | 22 |
12 | Easington Colliery | Stephen Malcolm | 4 |
13 | Thundersley Brass | Melvin White | 11 |
14 | Amersham | Paul Fisher | 3 |
15 | Marsden Silver | Andrew Lofthouse | 12 |
16 | Sovereign Brass | Stephen Roberts | 8 |
17 | Bo’ness & Carriden | Andrew Duncan | 14 |
18 | Lydbrook | Stephen Sykes | 17 |
19 | Crofton Silver | Dean Jones | 15 |
20 | Roberts Bakery | Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 9 |
21 | Staffordshire | Craig Williams | 7 |
22 | Jackfield | Ryan Richards | 16 |
Best Instrumentalist: Sarah Curtis – Trombone (Unite the Union)